The Arlington Times / The Marysville Globe
September 19, 2015
Day of caring volunteers help rescue horses
9
Fence work wouldn’t have gotten done BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
MARYSVILLE — Over the past three years, Sharon Peck, outreach coordinator for the All-Breed Equine Rez-Q, has seen its fences go from worn and falling down to white and repaired, thanks to the United Way of Snohomish County’s annual Day of Caring. “We have just enough people of our own to make sure the animals are fed, watered, groomed and kept safe, although we could always use more,” Peck said, as 30 volunteers completed long-overdue acts of maintenance Sept. 11-12. “But like any farm or household, we have a pretty long to-do list,” she added. “We’ve had to put off a lot of those things, whether it’s trimming the growing weeds, taking care of peeling paint or even putting in new fencing, simply because we don’t have enough folks to do them.” Peck touted the value of
the cleanup and repair of the property in how much more hospitable it makes the horse rescue, for both horses and human visitors. “By making it more beautiful, we make it more friendly,” Peck said. “The first year they started on that fence, we had people come by and say, ‘Hey, this place looks great. What’s the difference?’” Bunny Walters, early learning manager for the United Way, pointed out the difference between learning about the county’s non-profit organizations on paper, versus seeing them work firsthand. “Our volunteers get to work with these groups, in a really hands-on way, and witness the difference that they make,” Walters said. “You can see the needs here just by visiting. These horses wouldn’t have homes without this group. And at the end of the day, everyone is always smiling.” For details, visit www.allbreedhorserescue.com.
Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
While United Way volunteers Caryn Walline, Rob Jensen and Janis Flaherty take out old fencing, Claire Matthewson and Jillann Schroeder groom the horses at the All-Breed Equine Rez-Q Sept. 12.
‘Welcoming’ attitude brings crane firm to town BY STEVE POWELL spowell@arlingtontimes.com
ARLINGTON — Randy DeFosse was looking for a new home for Western Pacific Crane & Equipment. The general manager decided on Arlington because city officials were welcoming. “They put up walls,” he said of other communities. “They told me all the things I couldn’t do.” Some places told him he couldn’t build there, and others said he would have to pay $1 million to improve infrastructure. He specifically mentioned Arlington City Administrator Paul Ellis as being especially helpful. “What are the barriers I can help you solve?” he quoted Ellis as saying. The business was renting in Fife, and it liked being near the Port of Tacoma, but it was costly. He didn’t
Steve Powell/Staff Photo
Western Pacific’s Randy DeFosse, left, the general manager, talks with a number of Arlington officials inside the company’s huge warehouse at an open house this week. want to move this far north, but everywhere else was too expensive. For his business to be successful, DeFosse said
there needs to be industrial and commercial growth, and this area has those. He said highway construction and energy development
also are good customers. He talked with the Port of Everett and found out they are planning to expand. He’s
also excited about being near Boeing. DeFosse’s target area goes all the way to British Columbia, and he sees a lot of growth that direction in the future. He said many businesses have stores north and south of Seattle because it’s a “train wreck” there, and customers hate dealing with the traffic. So he still has some contacts in the Fife area to help deal with customers they already have to the south. The Arlington facility is in a refurbished 23,000-square-foot building and warehouse on four acres at 19602 60th Ave. NE. It will offer new and used cranes and heavy equipment as well as cranes for long-term rental purchase options. Western Pacific carries parts and accessories for cranes and boom trucks. The business has technicians to do repairs or other work needed on cranes.
DeFosse said their goal is faster service and better parts availability. He said the firm is a subsidiary of Lanco, a family business that started in Chicago in 1954. It was Jack Lanigan Sr.’s American Dream. His Mi-Jack company invented a crane that could put telephone poles in without parked cars getting in the way. They eventually developed cranes that could lift train cars and box cars at ports and railways. Bob Johnson, president at Western Pacific, said in a statement that it’s a cuttingedge facility. He also said it’s the West Coast’s only authorized Manitowoc, Grove and National crane dealer. The Fontana, Calif.,-based Western Pacific has seven locations in Washington, California, Hawaii, Alaska and Canada. For details, call 253-2547950 or go to www.wpcrane. com.